"Ouyang Lin, a humble minister, meets the Queen. Her Majesty is a thousand years old!"
Cheng Wen looked at the plain-looking middle-aged official in front of him with interest, waited for a while and then said with a smile: "Get up and answer."
"Thank you, empress." Ouyang Lin stood up calmly, still standing with his head bowed and looking at the ground.
"Fortunately, you are a member of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry and are not considered a foreign minister. Otherwise, it would be really inconvenient for me to summon you." Cheng Wen smiled brightly and her voice was melodious and sweet, but to Ouyang Lin, it sounded like there was something extremely important. Power.
He lightened his throat and responded cautiously: "It is a great honor for a humble official to be summoned by the Queen. At the same time, I feel deeply flattered and frightened. I wonder what the Queen has to do?"
Cheng Wen stared at Ouyang Lin and said with a faint smile: "A humble official? Well, I am a member of the Qinxun Yi Guards and a seventh-grade military attache, which is indeed not a high rank. However, you are the emperor's trusted and beloved person, and you are always by His Majesty's side. . Therefore, when I summon you, you shouldn’t feel panicked or flattered.”
Ouyang Lin was slightly startled, and quickly responded: "Wei ministers belong to the Forbidden Army, and it is indeed common for them to carry out errands according to orders. However, the empress has a distinguished status and was specially summoned. This is a great blessing that can only be obtained by the virtues of our ancestors. He said in panic, From the heart.”
Cheng Wen smiled and did not comment, then asked: "Master Ouyang, do you know Cheng Nan? He is my younger brother."
Ouyang Lin cupped his hands and replied: "Reporting to your Majesty, General Cheng and Wei Chen both belong to the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry of the Forbidden Army and are colleagues. However, we are in different camps, and General Cheng has a higher position than Wei Chen and has a more distinguished status. Therefore, Wei Chen has not yet had the opportunity to meet and get to know General Cheng."
"I heard Cheng Nan mention you," Cheng Wen said as if chatting about home affairs, "He said you seem to be from Luoyi, right?"
"That's right. Wei Chen is a native of Luoyi."
Cheng Wen nodded and continued: "I heard that you offended the rebel Xie Guang. What happened?"
Ouyang Lin hesitated for a moment, and then answered truthfully: "Back then, Wei Chen served in the Dongdu patrol camp. A deputy captain of the Xuanjia Legion had sex after drinking, and broke into the house and raped a civilian girl. The girl broke free afterwards. I ran to the street to ask for help, and happened to be caught by Wei Chen on patrol. The evil traitor relied on his status as a general of the Xuanjia Army. Not only did he not cooperate with the questioning, but he also tried to resist arrest and was severely injured on the spot under Wei Chen's order."
"How many injuries?"
"Well... one arm is useless... and one eye is blind."
"You deserve to bully a woman!" Cheng Wen sneered: "However, at that time, Xie Guangzheng was so powerful that if you dared to hurt his people, there would be no good consequences."
Ouyang Lin nodded and said calmly: "Your Majesty's guess is correct. Xie Guang sent troops to arrest Wei Chen that night, intending to chop off Wei Chen's head directly to vent his anger on the Xuanjia Army."
"Then how did you escape?"
"Speaking of it, it must be God's blessing." Ouyang Lin smiled bitterly: "Weichen had already been captured by the Xuanjia Army and taken into the camp. He knew that he would not be spared, so he was prepared to be executed at any time. But I didn't expect that the bullied girl risked her life to break through the palace gate in order to save me, alarming Master Murong, the official of Zhanshi in the East Palace. Master Murong immediately reported the matter to the emperor, and then the emperor personally came forward to find Xie Guang, and then the minister was saved. His despicable life."
An imperceptible light flashed in Cheng Wen's eyes, and she asked casually, "So it was Murong Xue who saved you. Then you have a good relationship with this general consort?"
"That's not the case." Ouyang Lin said loudly: "Empress, the one who saved me was not Lord Murong, but the emperor. Back then, Your Majesty was controlled by the traitor Xie Guang. He was already in danger and could encounter danger at any time. However, for the sake of this minister, The Emperor even hesitated to directly offend Xie Guang and the Xuanjia Legion for such an unknown and insignificant person. This life-saving grace is bigger than the sky and deeper than the sea."
Ouyang Lin's words were sincere and sincere. Cheng Wen couldn't help but nodded slightly and said solemnly: "You are right. To be grateful, you should be grateful for His Majesty's kindness. Mr. Ouyang, in order to repay His Majesty, you must be loyal Doing business."
"Wei ministers should keep in mind the teachings of the empress, be devoted to the Lord, and be loyal."
"I am the best at understanding people. Your future will definitely be limitless." Cheng Wen smiled faintly and suddenly asked: "Ouyang, what do you think of the current situation in the court?"
As soon as this question was asked, Ouyang Lin's eyes suddenly turned cold.
According to the ancestral system of the Holy Tang Dynasty, the harem was not allowed to interfere in politics. Cheng Wen had already violated a taboo by asking him so blatantly what he thought of the situation.
Ouyang Lin was silent for a moment and shook his head gently: "My dear, just as Wei Chen said just now. Due to my status, I am really not qualified to discuss government affairs."
He mentioned the words "restricted by his status". On the surface, it seemed that he was talking about his low official position and being humble, but in essence he was reminding Cheng Wen, who was sitting across from him: Set your stance and don't make trouble for yourself.
With Cheng Wen's astuteness, how could she not hear the underlying meaning of these words, but she still had a smile on her face and said word by word: "The Lord is worried about the humiliation of the minister, and the Lord humiliates the minister to death. Mr. Ouyang, Do you understand the meaning of this sentence?"
Ouyang Lin cupped his hands and said, "Please forgive me for being stupid, Queen. Of course I understand this sentence, but the Queen seems to mean something, and I can't understand it."
Cheng Wen obviously didn't want to let Ouyang Lin go easily, and hoped to get to know him better, so he continued: "You are a close minister of the emperor, and you must know very well who the emperor's biggest enemy is."
Ouyang Lin really didn't want to discuss anything related to state affairs with the queen, but since the other party had already talked about it, he couldn't always talk about him, so he had to say in a deep voice: "The rebels in the south of the Yangtze River are the emperor. Even the biggest enemy of the entire Shengtang."
Cheng Wen showed an expression of "I knew you would say that", then sneered and shook his head: "If you really think so, you are totally wrong. Not only do you owe a debt to your subjects, but you also owe a lot to the emperor. of life-saving grace.”
Ouyang Lin cared most about "the emperor's life-saving grace" in his life. Cheng Wen deliberately said this, which naturally hit the key point in his heart. Ouyang Lin raised his eyebrows and said slightly dissatisfied: "Please give me some advice."
Cheng Wen smiled calmly and said: "Logically speaking, the harem cannot interfere with the affairs of the court. This is the ancestral rule of the Holy Tang Dynasty for 800 years. However, I regard you as a close minister of the emperor, and You haven’t really come to the court yet, so we just have a chat among ourselves, just to share the emperor’s worries.”
At this point, Cheng Wen paused for a moment, and then continued: "The Jiangnan rebels seem to be fighting against the imperial court across the river, and they are making a huge noise, but in the end they are nothing more than a small thing. Regardless of their military and financial resources, they are difficult to compare with those in the north. . One day, hundreds of thousands of imperial troops will march south to conquer, and the pseudo-Jin king and his like will be wiped out, no matter what he thinks."
Ouyang Lin did not answer, but listened quietly to the Queen's continued talk: "For the emperor, the real enemy is the Zhenjiang Army, Li Jiangyao. They are a hundred times more powerful and terrifying than the rebels in Jiangnan. Ten thousand times!"
Seeing that Ouyang Lin remained silent, Cheng Wen's tone gradually became colder: "Don't think that I am making trouble out of nothing, let alone think that this is just a personal grudge between me and Li Jiangyao. What I said is true everywhere. I'm thinking about my husband. There are hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses guarding Xinjiang, both in the east and the west. They only recognize Li Jiangyao in their hearts, but they regard the Holy Tang Emperor as nothing. Look at the likes of Murong Xue and Ma Hongjie, who lead the country's imperial salary. They are also flirting and secretly colluding with Li Jiangyao. If something happens, they can't count on it at all!"
"Ouyang Lin, think about it carefully. If Li Jiangyao raises the flag of rebellion, besides the 200,000 Imperial Guards and the 120,000 White Tiger Legion, who else can protect your savior and the monarch of our Holy Tang?"
Ouyang Lin was stunned for a moment and said hesitantly: "My Lady, without any real evidence, it is... inappropriate to doubt the loyalty of the general leading the army."
"Stop pretending to be confused with me!" Cheng Wen sneered: "You and all the people who are loyal to the emperor, who are not always worried secretly that Li Jiangyao and his Zhenjiang Army will rebel? Even His Majesty himself, Don’t you think that when you think about this, you have trouble sleeping and eating?”
"Ouyang Lin, as far as Shengtang is concerned, no general, no matter how loyal, can be trusted. No matter whether he is a hero or a member of the royal family, there is only one kind of general in this world who can make people feel completely at ease."
After hearing this, Ouyang Lin couldn't help but asked curiously: "What kind of general?"
Cheng Wen replied calmly: "The general who voluntarily surrendered his military power."
Taking the initiative to hand over military power means completely giving up the ability to compete with the imperial court, and it means always willingly surrendering to the emperor.
Such a general is like a tiger with its claws removed, which can certainly make people feel at ease.
Ouyang Lin took a deep breath and retorted: "Empress, the Zhenjiang Army is recognized as an elite army, and Li Jiangyao is an unparalleled general. They are still very useful in quelling the Jiangnan rebellion. The emperor is now..."
Cheng Wen interrupted him disdainfully: "You just can't settle the accounts! Sometimes it's not as clear as a woman in this palace. What would happen without Li Jiangyao and the Zhenjiang Army? Can't the Jiangnan rebels be pacified? What a joke. ! In order to kill a wild boar and grow a tiger, what is this called? This is called raising tigers to cause trouble!"
"When Li Jiangyao kills the false King of Jin, holding a sharp sword in his hand and looking around, he has no rival in the world, then who will his next target be? Mr. Ouyang, have you ever thought about it?"
Faced with the Queen's aggressive questioning, Ouyang Lin really didn't know how to answer.
To be fair, Cheng Wen's worries are not entirely unreasonable. Who can say with certainty who Li Jiangyao, who has a large number of troops, will regard as his next enemy?
